Ohio State notebook: Torrence makes progress

Other items: Beanie is well; Boom and Zoom; practice turnout; ball control, and more

Todd Porter

Canton South graduate Devon Torrence continues to improve at receiver, a position he was switched to about 10 days ago. Torrence, receivers coach Darrell Hazell said, is behind the others.

“Only because he got a late start,” Hazell said. “He’s got phenomenal quickness, but he has to learn the system, and he hasn’t caught up yet.”

Hazell said it was likely that two or three true freshman could play, with Torrence being one of them.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see him gain some kind of role here in the next two weeks,” Tressel said.

Torrence had a miscommunication with Boeckman on a long pass. It appeared that Torrence ran the wrong route, and Boeckman set him straight afterward.

Beanie is Well

Starting tailback Beanie Wells was held out of much of Thursday’s practice with an ankle injury. Wells’ injury isn’t serious. He took part in team drills later in practice.

Dynamic Duo

Head Coach Jim Tressel said players have started calling the freshman tailback combination of Boom Herron and Brandon Saine “Boom and Zoom.” Saine looks smooth and fast in the slot position. He could push Ray Small (high ankle sprain) for playing time this year.

Front-Runners?

Last year, when Ohio State was the preseason No. 1 with Heisman Trophy candidate Troy Smith, more than 28,000 people showed up for an open night practice and autograph session. This year? About 2,500 showed up for autographs and 5,500 for practice.

Captains

Players voted Thursday on team captains, but Tressel won’t announce results until this afternoon. Asked how he voted, Tressel said, “very well.”

Ball Control

Don’t expect to see much of the spread offense that Ohio State ran last year. Offensive Coordinator Jim Bollman believes the line could be a strength this year, and with a healthy Wells, the Buckeyes could be a run-first offense. “I think it’s more playing to our strengths,” than trying to protect a young QB, Daniels said.

Henton Gets Stronger

Antonio Henton, who is battling with Rob Schoenhoft and Todd Boeckman to be the starting QB, is third in a tight race. Henton has shown off a strong arm during practice. “Antonio has come leaps and bounds,” QB coach Joe Daniels said. “He is throwing the ball really well. ... He came in here last year, and believe it or not, he had a bad arm and he was hurting. We were like ‘Whoa. What’s going on here?’” Daniels said Boeckman is first with some breathing room.